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623(download pdf) Financial Accounting Theory 4th Edition Deegan Test Bank full chapter
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Chapter 07 Positive Accounting Theory
3. To test whether accounting information is useful, researchers such as Ball and Brown tested whether share
prices responded to:
A. Expected earnings announcements
B. Forecast earnings announcements
C. Unexpected earnings announcements
D. All of the given options are correct.
5. The principal's expectation of opportunistic behaviour by his or her agent results in lower payments to:
A. The agent
B. The principal
C. The principal and the agent
D. Neither the principal nor the agent
6. According to agency theory, contracts that align the interests of the principal and agent primarily benefit:
A. The agent
B. The principal
C. Both the principal and the agent
D. Neither the principal nor the agent
8. The 'political cost hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests which of the following?
A. Large firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
B. Small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
C. Neither large nor small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
D. Both large and small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
9. The 'bonus plan hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests managers of firms with bonus plans tied
to reported income are more likely to use accounting methods that:
A. Increase prior period reported income
B. Increase current period reported income
C. Increase future period reported income
D. None of the given options are correct.
10. The 'debt/equity hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory predicts which of the following?
A. The higher the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that lower
income.
B. The lower the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase
income.
C. The higher the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase
income.
D. None of the given options are correct.
11. The 'efficiency perspective' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests that firms will:
A. Adopt the accounting methods that require the least resources to implement
B. Adopt the accounting methods that result in the highest reported earnings
C. Adopt the accounting methods that result in the lowest reported earnings
D. Adopt the accounting methods that best reflect the underlying economic performance of the entity
12. Which of the following is correct in respect of Positive Accounting Theory?
A. The opportunistic perspective is ex-post, and the efficiency perspective is ex-ante.
B. The opportunistic perspective is ex-ante, and the efficiency perspective is ex-post.
C. Both the opportunistic and efficiency perspectives are ex-ante.
D. Both the opportunistic and efficiency perspectives are ex-post.
13. A manager electing to adopt a depreciation method that increases income, but does not reflect the actual use
of the asset, is consistent with:
A. The efficiency perspective of Positive Accounting Theory
B. The opportunistic perspective of Positive Accounting Theory
C. Both the opportunity and the efficiency perspectives of Positive Accounting Theory
D. Neither the opportunity nor the efficiency perspectives of Positive Accounting Theory
14. Which of the following parties desire the firm to take the most risks?
A. Managers
B. Debtholders
C. Owners
D. All parties desire the firm to take the same level of risk.
16. Which of the following is the main advantage of using accounting earnings instead of share prices to
determine bonuses?
A. Share prices are influenced by market forces that are outside the control of management.
B. Accounting information is independently audited.
C. Accounting information is unbiased.
D. Share prices may be manipulated by managers engaging in insider trading.
17. According to Positive Accounting Theory, using stock prices to determine bonuses:
A. Increases the likelihood of management disclosing good news
B. Increases the likelihood of management disclosing of bad news
C. Increases the likelihood of management disclosing both good and bad news
D. Has no effect on the likelihood of management disclosures
18. According to Positive Accounting Theory, the existence of debt covenants:
A. Can be explained from an efficiency perspective, and gives management an incentive to manipulate
accounting information from an opportunistic perspective
B. Can be explained from an opportunistic perspective, and gives management an incentive to manipulate
accounting information from an efficiency perspective
C. Can be explained from both efficiency and opportunistic perspectives
D. Cannot be explained
22. Which of the following is an example of political costs under the PAT perspective?
A. Wage and salary deductions paid to unions
B. Contributions to political parties
C. Costs associated with increased wage claims
D. The cost of remaining largely unnoticed by government regulatory agencies
23. Which of the following is not an example of a Positive Accounting Theory or research?
A. True income theories
B. Legitimacy Theory
C. Costs associated with increased wage claims
D. The cost of remaining largely unnoticed by government regulatory agencies
24. Which of the following statements is not true about Positive Accounting Theory?
A. It is used to distinguish research aimed at explanation and prediction.
B. It is designed to explain and predict which firms will, and which firms will not, use a particular method, and
also prescribes which method a firm should use.
C. It focuses on the relationships between the various individuals involved in providing resources to an
organisation, and how accounting is used to assist in the functioning of these relationships.
D. One of the key theories that underpins Positive Accounting Theory is Agency theory.
25. Which of the following statements is true regarding the origins and development of Positive Accounting
Theory?
A. Positive research in accounting started coming to prominence around the mid-1960s, and appeared to
become the dominant research paradigm within financial accounting in the 1970s and 1980s.
B. The introduction of positive research into accounting represented a paradigm shift from normative research
to positive research.
C. Currently, almost all papers in Accounting Review and most other leading academic journals are positive
research-based.
D. All of the given options are correct.
26. Which of the following is not true about Positive Accounting Theory?
A. A positive theory seeks to explain and predict particular phenomena.
B. A positive theory focuses on the relationships between various individuals and how accounting is used to
assist in the functioning of these relationships.
C. A positive theory prescribes how a particular practice should be undertaken.
D. All of the given options are correct.
27. Which of the following statements is true about what caused the shift in paradigm from normative to
positive research?
A. The shift resulted from US reports on business education, and improved computing facilities enabling
large-scale statistical analysis.
B. The shift occurred because positive accounting researchers are not concerned with explaining or predicting
what is (i.e. that which could be tested empirically); rather, they are concerned with what should be.
C. The shift occurred because in positive research, falsifiable hypotheses are not generated from theory.
D. All of the given options are correct.
28. It is common practice for managers to be rewarded in a way that is tied to the profits of the firm, the sales of
the firm, or the return on assets. That is, their remuneration is based on the output of the accounting system.
Which of the following is a drawback for such bonus schemes?
A. Bonus schemes tied to the performance of the firm will be put in place to align the interests of the owners
and the managers.
B. Rewarding managers on the basis of accounting profits may induce them to manipulate accounting numbers.
C. There would be limited incentives for the manager to adopt risky strategies that increase the value of the
firm.
D. The manager may be reluctant to take on optimal levels of debt.
29. Which of the following bonus schemes would be appropriate for the managers of a biotechnology research
company?
A. A market-based bonus scheme, as it is more appropriate to reward the manager in terms of the market value
of the firm's securities, which are assumed to be influenced by expectations about the net present value of
expected future cash flows, and the manager will be given an incentive to increase the value of the firm.
B. A fixed basis scheme, so that the managers would not take great risks, reject risky projects, and be reluctant
to take on optimal levels of debt as it may be beneficial to those with equity in the firm.
C. An accounting-based bonus scheme as this will be in the interest of the manager, as that manager will
potentially receive greater rewards and will not have to bear the costs of the perceived opportunistic behaviours.
D. A combination of fixed basis and accounting-based scheme, as assuming that self-interest drives the actions
of the managers, it may be necessary to put in place remuneration schemes that reward the managers in a way
that is, at least in part, tied to the performance of the firm.
30. Which of the following can be used as an accounting measure by the government and other interest groups
that a particular organisation (typically large) is generating excessive profits and not paying its 'fair share' to
other segments of the community?
A. Total sales
B. Total profits
C. Total assets
D. All of the given options are correct.
Chapter 07 Positive Accounting Theory Key
Deegan - Chapter 07 #1
Difficulty: Easy
Deegan - Chapter 07 #2
Difficulty: Easy
3. To test whether accounting information is useful, researchers such as Ball and Brown tested whether share
prices responded to:
A. Expected earnings announcements
B. Forecast earnings announcements
C. Unexpected earnings announcements
D. All of the given options are correct.
Deegan - Chapter 07 #3
Difficulty: Easy
Deegan - Chapter 07 #4
Difficulty: Easy
5. The principal's expectation of opportunistic behaviour by his or her agent results in lower payments to:
A. The agent
B. The principal
C. The principal and the agent
D. Neither the principal nor the agent
Deegan - Chapter 07 #5
Difficulty: Easy
6. According to agency theory, contracts that align the interests of the principal and agent primarily benefit:
A. The agent
B. The principal
C. Both the principal and the agent
D. Neither the principal nor the agent
Deegan - Chapter 07 #6
Difficulty: Easy
Deegan - Chapter 07 #7
Difficulty: Medium
8. The 'political cost hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests which of the following?
A. Large firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
B. Small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
C. Neither large nor small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
D. Both large and small firms are more likely to use accounting choices that reduce reported profits.
Deegan - Chapter 07 #8
Difficulty: Easy
9. The 'bonus plan hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests managers of firms with bonus plans tied
to reported income are more likely to use accounting methods that:
A. Increase prior period reported income
B. Increase current period reported income
C. Increase future period reported income
D. None of the given options are correct.
Deegan - Chapter 07 #9
Difficulty: Easy
10. The 'debt/equity hypothesis' of Positive Accounting Theory predicts which of the following?
A. The higher the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that lower
income.
B. The lower the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase
income.
C. The higher the firm's debt/equity ratio, the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase
income.
D. None of the given options are correct.
11. The 'efficiency perspective' of Positive Accounting Theory suggests that firms will:
A. Adopt the accounting methods that require the least resources to implement
B. Adopt the accounting methods that result in the highest reported earnings
C. Adopt the accounting methods that result in the lowest reported earnings
D. Adopt the accounting methods that best reflect the underlying economic performance of the entity
14. Which of the following parties desire the firm to take the most risks?
A. Managers
B. Debtholders
C. Owners
D. All parties desire the firm to take the same level of risk.
16. Which of the following is the main advantage of using accounting earnings instead of share prices to
determine bonuses?
A. Share prices are influenced by market forces that are outside the control of management.
B. Accounting information is independently audited.
C. Accounting information is unbiased.
D. Share prices may be manipulated by managers engaging in insider trading.
22. Which of the following is an example of political costs under the PAT perspective?
A. Wage and salary deductions paid to unions
B. Contributions to political parties
C. Costs associated with increased wage claims
D. The cost of remaining largely unnoticed by government regulatory agencies
23. Which of the following is not an example of a Positive Accounting Theory or research?
A. True income theories
B. Legitimacy Theory
C. Costs associated with increased wage claims
D. The cost of remaining largely unnoticed by government regulatory agencies
24. Which of the following statements is not true about Positive Accounting Theory?
A. It is used to distinguish research aimed at explanation and prediction.
B. It is designed to explain and predict which firms will, and which firms will not, use a particular method, and
also prescribes which method a firm should use.
C. It focuses on the relationships between the various individuals involved in providing resources to an
organisation, and how accounting is used to assist in the functioning of these relationships.
D. One of the key theories that underpins Positive Accounting Theory is Agency theory.
26. Which of the following is not true about Positive Accounting Theory?
A. A positive theory seeks to explain and predict particular phenomena.
B. A positive theory focuses on the relationships between various individuals and how accounting is used to
assist in the functioning of these relationships.
C. A positive theory prescribes how a particular practice should be undertaken.
D. All of the given options are correct.
27. Which of the following statements is true about what caused the shift in paradigm from normative to
positive research?
A. The shift resulted from US reports on business education, and improved computing facilities enabling
large-scale statistical analysis.
B. The shift occurred because positive accounting researchers are not concerned with explaining or predicting
what is (i.e. that which could be tested empirically); rather, they are concerned with what should be.
C. The shift occurred because in positive research, falsifiable hypotheses are not generated from theory.
D. All of the given options are correct.
29. Which of the following bonus schemes would be appropriate for the managers of a biotechnology research
company?
A. A market-based bonus scheme, as it is more appropriate to reward the manager in terms of the market value
of the firm's securities, which are assumed to be influenced by expectations about the net present value of
expected future cash flows, and the manager will be given an incentive to increase the value of the firm.
B. A fixed basis scheme, so that the managers would not take great risks, reject risky projects, and be reluctant
to take on optimal levels of debt as it may be beneficial to those with equity in the firm.
C. An accounting-based bonus scheme as this will be in the interest of the manager, as that manager will
potentially receive greater rewards and will not have to bear the costs of the perceived opportunistic behaviours.
D. A combination of fixed basis and accounting-based scheme, as assuming that self-interest drives the actions
of the managers, it may be necessary to put in place remuneration schemes that reward the managers in a way
that is, at least in part, tied to the performance of the firm.
30. Which of the following can be used as an accounting measure by the government and other interest groups
that a particular organisation (typically large) is generating excessive profits and not paying its 'fair share' to
other segments of the community?
A. Total sales
B. Total profits
C. Total assets
D. All of the given options are correct.
Category # of Questions
Deegan - Chapter 07 30
Difficulty: Easy 20
Difficulty: Hard 4
Difficulty: Medium 6
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"To complete the purchase of the yacht for Gwendolen. I wanted to give
it to her absolutely unencumbered. Mr. Tracy was selling some capital for
me and said I must wait till the following settling day for the cash, and I
asked Melville to lend me the hundred I needed until the matter was
completed. But he didn't send it. He never even answered my letter."
"He tells me he sent you a hundred pounds in notes," Sir Geoffrey said
distinctly. "Isn't that true?"
"No," said Ralph indignantly; "it's an absolute lie." He paced the room
in angry impatience. It seemed incredible that his own brother could be
capable of such an utterly unworthy trick. Sir Geoffrey closed his book with
a snap and pressed his lips together.
"I ought to have known you both better," he said; "but Melville's story
was so circumstantial, and there was the evidence of your letter, too. I was
completely taken in. But now I know what to do."
"Our relationship to him is our misfortune," said Sir Geoffrey, "not our
fault. I shall do what I say."
"Look here, Uncle Geoffrey," said Ralph excitedly, "after all, this is
largely my affair. I will give you back the hundred pounds—I've got the
money now—and I will go to town at once and square accounts with
Melville. Did he tell you where he was staying?"
"No," said his uncle; "I did not enquire."
"Well, I'm sure to get news of him at Jermyn Street, if he isn't actually
there. Promise to abandon all idea of prosecution, and leave this in my
hands. Promise?"
Sir Geoffrey looked with pleasure at his nephew as he stood erect before
him, glowing with just indignation, but with chivalrous desire to spare his
brother this crowning shame.
Sir Geoffrey shook his head doubtfully, but the mellow roar of the gong
reverberated through the house announcing luncheon, and he welcomed the
interruption.
"Shake hands, my boy," he said. "I'm sorry I misjudged you, even for a
moment. And now come along, or Gwen will think I've frightened away
your appetite."
He linked his arm within his nephew's, and went into the dining-room
with all his wonted cheerfulness restored.
CHAPTER V.
A refresher, in the shape of a sherry and bitters at the club, was followed
by a delicate but entirely adequate luncheon at the Dieu-donnée, and
Melville's enjoyment of it was not diminished by the fact that, happening to
meet a casual acquaintance there, he lunched at the same table, and
suggested that they should toss to decide which of the twain should pay the
joint account, with the result that the casual acquaintance lost. Evidently the
fickle jade was smiling on Melville; a couple of games of billiards followed
the luncheon, and another refresher the billiards, and in high good humour
Melville sauntered down the Ladies' Mile, preparatory to driving from
Albert Gate to The Vale.
"Sorry I can't ask you to come with me, old man," he said genially, "but
I'm obliged to pay a duty visit to an aged aunt."
"It's a very little flaw in an otherwise perfect day. You must lunch with
me next time, and I will give you your revenge at billiards," and carefully
choosing a well-appointed hansom he drove away.
"The old lady does herself pretty well," thought Melville to himself as
he walked up the gravelled path and noticed the close-cropped lawn and the
blaze of geraniums and petunias. "I wonder what she knows about me, and
what line I'd better take! The interesting musician might be diplomatic
perhaps."
He thought that the maid who opened the door looked curiously at him
as he enquired whether Lady Holt was at home, but, after all, that was a
trifling matter, capable of bearing many interpretations. His interest was,
however, more fully aroused by the drawing-room into which he was shown
to await his aunt's coming, for it was not at all the sort of environment in
which he had imagined he would find Sir Geoffrey's wife. It was essentially
the drawing-room of a worldly woman of the world, furnished with taste,
but evidently at great cost; photographs and silver boxes, enamels and
ivories were scattered in profusion over the many tables, water colours by
rising artists covered the walls, cushions and flowers were everywhere.
Then the door opened, and at the rustle of silk petticoats he turned to
make a formal bow to his aunt. But as he turned, an exclamation of surprise
escaped his lips and his single eye-glass dropped upon the floor, for the
woman who entered was no precise and ringletted old lady, but the one who
had asked him for his card at Monte Carlo, and who had expressed such
sympathy with him when he was reduced to the necessity of applying for
the viaticum. It was indeed no other than the charming Mrs. Sinclair.
"Not the last you wanted to see, I hope," she replied, "but I confess
delight is not the predominant expression upon your face at the moment.
Won't you sit down?"
"I can't quite sort things," Melville said apologetically. "To begin with,
you see, I had never heard until last night that there was a Lady Holt, and
when I got her note asking me to call here to-day I tried to picture what she
would be like."
"I like her very much," Mrs. Sinclair said. "Mr. Melville, it isn't quite
fair, perhaps, to lay snares for young men, and you evidently don't grasp the
situation. You remember your last night at Monte Carlo?"
"It was not the sort of night to forget readily," Melville replied grimly. "I
never had such monstrous bad luck at the tables before."
"I have kept my promise," said Mrs. Sinclair. "I wrote to you yesterday
and asked you to come to see me. I am Lady Holt."
"I never thought to see you so taken aback," she said. "What I like so
much about English gentlemen is that they are so imperturbable, and now
you are gazing at me as if I were a freak."
"Really, I beg your pardon," Melville said. "but to think how grossly I
have misjudged Sir Geoffrey!"
"Come, that's much better," Mrs. Sinclair replied. "Yes, Mr. Ashley, the
confession has to be made; I am your aunt."
"I'm uncommonly delighted to hear it," Melville said heartily, "and I've
only one regret in learning the fact."
"I perceive you are not expert in drawing inferences," Mrs. Sinclair
said; "one does not associate the particularly goody-goody type of young
man with Monte Carlo, and that is where I saw you first."
"That is true," Melville admitted. "I must plead guilty to not being
goody-goody. By the way, am I to call you 'aunt'?"
"Then you are old enough to call me Lavender when we are alone," she
said. "Out of doors it had better be Mrs. Sinclair, I suppose. It is a
censorious world."
She leaned back in her chair and surveyed her nephew critically; the
scrutiny was satisfactory, and she was glad of the impulse that had
prompted her to disclose her identity to him. Yet, shrewd and clever woman
as she was, she had taken a step which, while it could never be retraced,
was the first towards the undoing of them both. There were other things in
her life which in her hours of reflection she regretted, not least among them
being her separation from a husband whose good qualities she fully
recognised, but nothing in the past had been so fraught with peril to herself
as this alliance with her husband's nephew, which she owed to a single
moment of caprice.
"Confess now," she said presently, "you are burning with curiosity to
know all about everything?"
"The only thing that is necessary," Mrs. Sinclair replied, "is that I
actually am Sir Geoffrey Holt's wife. I married him years ago, when I was
too young to realise all that marriage means, especially marriage to a man
many years older than oneself. And—it didn't answer. That is really all."
She had no intention of telling Melville very much about herself, and, of
course, he could not cross-examine her. "He had not come into the title
then," she went on, "and indeed there was no reason for supposing he ever
would, for his brother was quite young enough to have married and had
sons. Perhaps——" She paused, and Melville took advantage of the pause
to give expression to the thought that was uppermost in his mind.
"I wonder that his marriage has been so completely forgotten. I never
heard of it, and I'm quite sure my brother never has, yet he has been like a
son to Sir Geoffrey, and knows a lot about his affairs."
"Sir Geoffrey is a very proud man. He always was; indeed, that had a
great deal to do with our mutual incompatibility, and proud men are apt to
hold their tongues about their failures. Oh, yes!" she said, laughing, though
there was no mirth in her laughter, "it was a dismal failure, and so we
agreed to separate and never trouble each other again."
"Sir Geoffrey is a very rich man," Melville remarked, following the line
of his own thoughts.
"I believe he is," said Mrs. Sinclair indifferently. "All the money in the
world doesn't make some things worth while."
"I wouldn't touch a penny of his money," said Mrs. Sinclair vehemently.
Melville, of course, dropped the subject, but noted her reply for future
use. What he wanted to ascertain most at the moment was Lady Holt's
feeling for her husband, but she gave him no opportunity.
"And he's like a son to Sir Geoffrey?" said Mrs. Sinclair. "Is he to be his
heir?"
"I don't know," Melville answered moodily. "I suppose so; but, as a
matter of fact, Sir Geoffrey hasn't made his will, so I don't know what he
will do with his money."
Mrs. Sinclair yawned. The conversation really did not interest her much,
and she had her own reasons for not wishing to let it get too intimate. She
had taken a fancy to Melville when she first saw him in the Riviera; he
belonged to the type of man in whose company she was most at home, and
she foresaw a certain amount of pleasurable excitement in which she could
participate with him without being worried by demonstrations of a more
affectionate interest, which men not related to her were apt to make. A
nephew is safer than a cousin.
"You must ask me to dine with you," she said, "and we will develop our
acquaintance gradually. I hate finding out all about people at once and
having nothing left to learn."
"All right," said Melville with alacrity. He liked her point of view and
felt amazingly sympathetic already. Moreover, he recognised as clearly as
she did the value of their relationship as a preventative of mutual
misunderstandings. "I will go and fix it up. 'Pon my honour, I'm awfully
delighted about this."
Mrs. Sinclair was satisfied. She rang the bell for the maid to open the
door, and smiled graciously upon her nephew.
"I hope you're going to be a great success," she said, as he rose to go.
"There is an element of romance in the way fate has brought us together
that is fascinating, and really you are a very creditable nephew."
BRAVADO.
Looking delightfully cool and well-bred in his grey flannel suit and
straw hat, with a turn-down collar that seemed to suggest an innocent
simplicity of character, Melville walked slowly down the hill from the
station and presented himself at the Austens' door. The ladies were in the
garden, the servant informed him, and there Melville sought them,
confident of a friendly greeting from them both.
Mrs. Austen was unaffectedly glad to see him. She had a tolerant feeling
for nearly all young men, and Melville's marvellous gift as a musician had
an especial charm for her. To Gwendolen he was Ralph's brother, and
hitherto Ralph had championed Melville's cause, with the result that the girl
was disposed to regard him as a somewhat maligned young man. So to-day
they made much of him, and, under the influence of their warm welcome
and gentle refinement, Melville was at his best.
"I've been sowing wild oats at Monte Carlo," he said gently, "and I
found it vanity. So I've come home. No, I had no adventures and met
nobody I knew. I lost all my money, and I'm very sorry for myself."
"I was thinking of Ralph and myself," he said. "Of course, Sir Geoffrey
has been equally generous to us both, but I notice that Ralph gets all the
affection. He was always Uncle Geoffrey's favourite, and now he is
engaged to Gwen." He sighed pathetically, and Mrs. Austen considered.
"I think your uncle is just as fond of you as he is of Ralph," she said,
"but you're not a home bird and your brother is. Really, I don't think Sir
Geoffrey could have been kinder to you if you had been his own son."
"Not kinder," Melville said, "but fonder, more affectionate. You have
known him a long time, Mrs. Austen. Why do you suppose he never
married?"
"I have often wondered," Mrs. Austen said, "but I never met him until
he came into the title and estates, and he was not a young man then. He may
never have wanted to marry, or he may have had some disappointment. At
all events, it's an excellent thing for you boys that he never did."
At last Melville rose to go, and with alacrity Ralph rose too.
"What the deuce do you mean by coming here like this?" he said
angrily.
"My dear Ralph," said Melville coolly, "The Grange doesn't belong to
you, nor does the Manor House—yet. I've been to The Grange because I
wanted to see the Austens, and now I'm going to the Manor House because
I want to see Sir Geoffrey."
"I wonder you have the audacity to look him in the face again," said
Ralph hotly. "You are a liar and a thief."
"Go slow, Ralph," said Melville, "go slow. It seems to me you're off
your chump. If your engagement hasn't turned your brain, tell me what all
this pother is about, and leave mud-slinging till afterwards. What do you
mean?"
Ralph was almost deceived by his brother's calmness; at any rate, it had
the effect of making him struggle to regain command of his own temper.
"I wrote to you when you were at Monte Carlo," he said more quietly,
"and asked you to lend me a hundred pounds."
"That's so," said Melville. "Sorry I couldn't oblige you, but I didn't even
read your letter till I was on my way home, and then I was broke myself."
"But you got a hundred pounds out of Sir Geoffrey," spluttered Ralph.
"I did," said Melville. "I hope you did the same."
"Good heavens, man!" cried Ralph, as angrily as before; "don't try your
vile swindles on me too. You told Sir Geoffrey you lent me that hundred
pounds and got him to hand you over an open cheque for the amount in
repayment of what you said was my debt, leaving him to get explanations
from me afterwards."
"I hope the old man wasn't very crusty," said Melville sweetly.
"But your whole story was an infernal lie," roared Ralph, "and you got
that money by a vulgar, low-down swindle. You are a liar, Melville, and a
thief. I wish to heaven Sir Geoffrey had kicked you out of the house before
he parted with the cheque."
"I daresay you do," Melville replied, unmoved; "but really, Ralph,
you've had your whack out of the old buck, and now you're going to marry
the Austen money you needn't grudge me a bit, need you? It's not exactly
brotherly."
"You can thank me that you've not been arrested already for getting that
money under false pretences," he said, livid with passion. "If Sir Geoffrey
had had his own way you would have been, and 'pon my word, I'm
beginning to be sorry I begged you off."
"Perhaps it isn't too late even yet," said Melville, no less calmly than
before, "but I fancy you are exaggerating. Sir Geoffrey is always
intemperate in his language, but I can't believe he would adopt such
extremely unpleasant measures as the prosecution of his own nephew.
However, I'll talk to him about it. I came down with the intention of doing
so after I left The Grange."
"I think it was a mean and dirty trick," he said, "to make out that I owed
you anything when I didn't, but that part of the business you can settle with
your own conscience. What are you going to do now about the money?"
"Well," said Ralph, "I persuaded Sir Geoffrey to drop the idea of legal
proceedings by saying that as you had used my name the matter ought to be
left in my hands. I've been to town to get the money, and I repaid him this
morning."
"That's really awfully good of you," Melville said effusively. "I am
infinitely obliged to you, but I'm afraid I shall have to owe it to you for a
little while."
"It's simple waste of time to talk to you," said Ralph with scorn, "but
there's one more remark I have to make, and you may as well remember it,
for I mean what I say. I can't undo the fact that you are my brother, but I can
do a good deal to prevent it from being forced on my attention, and one way
is to avoid seeing you. Now, in future I'll trouble you to keep away from
The Grange."
Melville coloured. This was a contingency he had not foreseen, and for
a moment he lost his judgment.
"You are a contemptible swindler, and if you only have rope enough
you'll hang yourself in the end. I'm quits with Sir Geoffrey over your last
fraud, and it's worth every penny of the money to have learnt to know you
as you are; but now I do know you I'll take jolly good care that you don't
hang about my friends. Sir Geoffrey has ordered you out of the Manor
House, and I order you out of The Grange. Go there again, and I'll tell Mrs.
Austen all about this business and twist your neck into the bargain."
"It will be time enough for you to order me out of houses when you
possess any. When you are master of The Grange I shall keep clear of the
place, you may be sure. Until then I shall call upon Mrs. Austen whenever I
choose."
"If you go to The Grange I shall tell Mrs. Austen what has happened,"
Ralph repeated, "and she will order you out then herself."
"I dare you to do it," said Melville. In reality the idea filled him with
uneasiness, but he was too shrewd to show it. Instead, he remarked
reflectively, as if considering Ralph's interests only, "Mrs. Austen might
begin to think she was allowing her daughter to marry into a queer family,
supposing for the moment that she took everything you said for gospel."
Ralph drove his hands deep into his pockets. Honesty such as his often
seems very stupid when confronted with the cleverness of a knave, and he
felt unequal to a discussion with his brother. But he wished he had been less
loyal to him in the past, less sturdy an advocate for his defence when Sir
Geoffrey arraigned him. It was humiliating to think how completely
Melville had taken him in. They walked in silence to the Manor House, and
Ralph paused by the gate.
"I'm not going to argue with you, and I have nothing to add to what I
said about The Grange. Go there and you'll see. Here is the Manor House. If
you take my advice you will leave me here and get back to town by the next
train."
"When I ask your advice I'll consider about taking it," Melville
answered gently; he saw how his own coolness angered and flurried Ralph.
"As for The Grange, Mrs. Austen has kindly invited me to dine there and
bring my violin, and I need scarcely say I have accepted. And as for Sir
Geoffrey, I have come down to see him, and if he's at home I will see him
now; if he is out I shall wait."
"You are beyond me," Ralph said hopelessly. "Well, I don't want to keep
you away from Sir Geoffrey if you are anxious to see him, but if I were in
your shoes, which, thank heaven, I am not, I would blow out my brains
rather than face him. I don't believe you have any shame left."
He opened the gate and, with Melville, walked up the drive. As they
came in sight of the house, however, his mind shrank from the prospect of
having to be present at so painful an interview between his uncle and
brother as he felt sure this one must be. He stopped abruptly.
"You will probably find Sir Geoffrey in the library," he said. "I am
going down to the houseboat."
"All right," said Melville unconcernedly. "I dare say I shall see you
again later. If Sir Geoffrey asks me to stay, I will. By-bye," and noting with
amusement the incredulous surprise written on Ralph's countenance he
nodded cheerfully to him and walked in through the open doorway of the
Manor House.
CHAPTER VII.
Melville turned from the hall into the dining-room and rang the bell. It
was cool and shady in this room, and Melville was conscious of a pang of
regret at the knowledge that the place would never be his. His life had been
full of variety and excitement, but it had cost him all chance of ever being
master of the Manor House. Already he was an unwelcome visitor, and
when in course of time it passed into Ralph's possession, its doors would
very probably be closed to him altogether.
"Ralph is a stupid clown," he muttered, "but I'm not sure that he hasn't
done better for himself than I have. To own this place and be Gwen's
husband should be good enough for anyone."
The sigh that escaped him was born of sincerity, but he turned briskly to
face his immediate task as the butler came in answer to the ring. Melville
shook hands with him, making no reference to his previous evening visit to
his uncle.
"Yes," said Melville; "same old racket, same old place, same old luck."
"That's rude," said Melville, "seeing that I've just come from there. How
is Sir Geoffrey?"
"Pretty well, sir," the butler replied; "I may say very well."
"He's a wonderful old chap," said Melville. "He'll be marrying soon and
having a family of his own; see if he doesn't."
"Sir Geoffrey never took any account of the ladies," Martin remarked.
"It's a pity, in some ways; but, bless you, sir, he's got all the family a man
needs in Master Ralph and yourself."
"Too much, perhaps," said Melville. "Go and tell him I'm here, Martin,
will you."